Revelation 3“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

Take a look at the video below and pay close attention to the part where he talks about breaches in the wall. The problem with the church at Sardis is they would not repair the breaches in the wall. Their pride and arrogance lead to their demise. The enemy used the breaches in the wall around the city that the people of Sardis refused to repair and refused to guard, as a means of attack. They did not stand careful watch over; consequently, they did not protect their city. To the church at Sardis Jesus pretty much warns them that they must repair the breaches in their walls. They must stand watch and strengthen what remained. Sin crept in by way of the breaches in their walls, it continued, ungodly behavior continued, pride continued until the church was dead. God absolutely revealed to me yesterday as I shared it with our congregation that we are to be doing everything that we do to repair the breaches in our walls personally and church wise. We must do so in order to reach those who do not know Jesus Christ. Our bible study must be about building soldiers to go out and witness to the lost. Our prayer meeting must be about training individuals to disciple others. Our church services must be about worship and showing others what worship looks like. We must be constantly training others to reach others. You see my mindset has been to make the lives of those individuals under our care better. We were to show them Jesus so their life would be better. That is absolutely flawed. All the right things but not necessarily for the right reason or purpose. Our purpose must be to maximize the Glory of God and to maximize the growth in the Kingdom. As a side bar the individuals we train will be better, more fulfilled and Kingdom minded. We disciple so they can disciple. This is a must. We must be discipling others so they can make disciples. If you have not read Tuesday and Wednesday's blog I encourage you to do so because the info is necessary to understand what I am about to say. I ask the congregation if they were a breach in the wall of The Way Church that satan could use to destroy the church. Seriously, is there sin in your life that satan could take advantage of to sneak in to the church. The Word of God says he seeks to kill steal and destroy. I have another question are you the breach that satan can use to destroy your family? Your family is as strong as your walk. If you cuss, they will cuss. If you fuss, they will fuss. If you skip church, they will skip church. If bible study is not important to you, it will not be important to them. If you pout and stomp when you don't get your way, then they will pout and stomp when they don't get their way. If an outsider listened to you talk with someone you love when you are angry with them would they wonder how in the world you could call yourself a christian? If so, your family will do the same and outsiders will think the same. If you drink, they will drink. If your steal, they will steal. The problem is you may think that you have everything perfectly under control; however, your children they may act like you and be strung out on drugs for life because they didn't have everything under control. They may loose their spouse, their jobs their livelihood. Why? Because the followed you and they failed to repair the breaches in the wall. When you see sin in your life first and foremost call it what it is, sin, then call upon the name of Jesus Christ to lead you and guide you through the fix. Stand guard and be watchful through all of the repair and do not allow such a breach in the future. Locate your breaches and fix them one step at a time with the loving hands of Jesus. Denial with attitude is certainly not a fix, and it will certainly carry serious consequences.

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’The city of Sardis had a history of considering its position as untouchable. It was a well protected city because of geography and terrain. Because of its position it could be easily defended and required very little man power. Croesus was King of Sardis from 560-547 BC. He sought to defeat the Persian Army at one point. To do so He had to cross the Halys River. Croesus believed victory was His because of what he considered prophecy that if he pursued this battle that a great empire would fall. He was correct however, the empire that fell kind of missed his mark. Cyrus was King of Persia at the time and during this battle between Sardis and Persia Creosus was forced to retreat back to Sardis. Some say it was because of defeat others say it was because of tradition to cease battle during winter. Either way Cyrus did not retreat and was determined to defeat the Sardian army, he continued in pursuit and seized the city of Sardis. Remember the city was high and not very easy to overtake. The Persian army had not taken the city, they simply had it surrounded. Croesus in his pride was not worried about the Persians. They would lose to much trying to overtake the city. Cyrus offered a large reward for anyone that would offer a plan to attack the city. A Persian soldier witnessed a Sardian soldier walking atop the wall of the city. He dropped his helmet on the outside of the city. He observed the soldier climb down from the wall city side some how come through the wall and get his helmet and then reappeared atop the wall. Obviously there was a breach in the wall. That night a group of persian soldiers went through the breach in the wall and opened the gates to the city of Sardis. They were uncontested. The pride of the city of Sardis in reference to there position was so great that they did not even have a night watch. The Persian army easily defeated Sardis as they lie sleeping. Almost a century later under the rule of Antiochus the same thing happened, the security and pride of their position caused the city to be overthrown. With that history lesson we must pay close attention to the message that Jesus has for this church in verse 2, be watchful and strengthen the things that remain. In verse 3 if you will not watch I will come upon you like a thief in the night. I am afraid that so many churches and so many christians fall into this category. They have allowed there position and their pride to keep them from standing guard. They are not watchful for the enemy. They feel as if they have everything under control. They actually feel like they are controlling their sin. Instead of repairing the breach in the wall they actually pass through it at will passing from inside the city to outside the city, passing from righteousness to the danger zone. Passing through the breach becoming very visible to the enemy and allowing attack. They are foolish and inattentive to what the Word of God says. They have no idea their sin cannot be controlled. Oh they may fool themselves by looking only at their own lives and failing miserably to look at the lives of those around them. Only time will reveal the destructive results of their failure to address sin in there life and truly live for Jesus. It is hard to tell them, well I take that back, it is easy to tell them, it is hard for them to listen. What about you, are you listening? Are you standing guard? Are you watchful? Are you strengthening the things that remain? Are your convictions repairing every breach? You know sadly the pride of Croesus effected the entire city. Many soldiers died. many wives and children died and were taken captive. Who is effected by your failure to stand guard? Who is effected by the sin in your life? Just You? NOT HARDLY! Read all of these verses, see what awaits. We can walk in white garments or we can be destroyed?

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’Sardis was at one time one of the most amazing cities in the world. It was located in the Tmolus Mountains. It was very easy to defend because of its position, ultimately this lead to its downfall. The word Sardis means escaping ones, or those who have come out. Jesus designates Himself as He who has the seven Spirits of God.

Isaiah 11:1-2 states, There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

One can conclude that the seven Spirits of God are, (1) Spirit of the LORD, (2) Spirit of wisdom, (3) Spirit of understanding, (4) Spirit of counsel, (5) Spirit of power, (6) Spirit of knowledge, (7) Spirit of the fear of the Lord. The Bible doesn’t tell us specifically who/what the seven spirits are, but the first interpretation, that they are the Holy Spirit, seems the most likely. Jesus says I am the God who has the Holy Spirit. Jesus also says that He is He who holds the seven stars. These stars are the angels of the seven churches, Revelation Chapter 1 verse 20. This letter begins negative, is pointed, and sharp. He says point blank that this church is dead. Forget the positive let us get straight to the negative. Remember the other churches Smyrna, zero condemnation. Jesus spoke to the other churches positives the negatives. To Sardis He is straight negative. Make no mistake, Jesus reveals to us right here that He is more concerned about what our heart says than what our mouth says. You see, Sardis had a name that was alive but it was dead. Spiritually they were dead. Please look at what Jesus prefaced this statement of death with, I Know your works. I do not understand how anyone can read the scripture and see so many references to the works of the children of God and deny importance of works to Jesus Christ. We have so entangled and perverted the Grace of God into a doctrine that works does not matter. We cannot do this. Keep the scripture connected as it is intended. Works leading to salvation have now merit. That is absolutely true. But works because of salvation is woven throughout the scripture. Even when Paul addressed the Galatians in chapter chapter one, he talks about returning so quickly to the law for salvation. He is referring to the law as a means and measure of the Gospel. Works cannot and will not save you, but they will be presence because you are saved. Here Jesus says I know your works, and they are not very good. In fact, you claim to be alive in your name but you are dead, nothing about your life screams alive and well. I have been guilty of saying that God does not expect us to be perfect, but what does He say to this church, I know your works and I have not found them to be perfect before God. He says here be watchful and strengthen the things that remain. I will share with you the importance of being watchful tomorrow. For the followers of The Way you will absolutely need it tomorrow for prayer meeting. I will send it out early so you can meditate on it and be ready to discuss. Come ready tomorrow night, put some thought in your prayer requests and be able to verbalize them efficiently, if you are going to proclaim what you have seen and heard this week, be prepared to speak, additionally, be praying that God will reveal to you the lesson He wants you to take from The Church at Sardis. May we glorify God in all that we do!

Revelation 218 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write,‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: 19 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. 20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. 24 “Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold fast what you have till I come. 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations--27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’— as I also have received from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’Four titles are given to the Lord, 1) the Son of God, 2) eyes like fire and 3) feet like brass and 4) the One who searches the minds and the heart. As the Son of God, He will judge the proclamations of the self proclaiming prophetess Jezebel. His eyes are like fire. They shall pierce to the very core of anything that is in His presence. His eyes shall see all and there is no place to run. His Feet of Brass speaks of judgement. They are the feet of judgement. In verse 23 Jesus also describes Himself as the one who searches the minds and the hearts. He sees the core of a man.

Thyatira was located in a valley. The city was very successful regarding commerce and it was a flow through for many people. It was vulnerable in that it was in a valley; however, it was a highway of travel.

The Good StuffThere are six positives; 1) it is a laboring church; 2) it is a loving church; 3) it is a church of service; 4) it is a church of faith (loyal); 5) it is a patient church and; 6) it is a growing church.

The Bad StuffThe church allowed Jezebel. She is corrupting the church. Jezebel was destroying the Holiness of the church. many of you remember the story of the Old Testament Jezebel. She was the wife of Ahab. She was the wife of Ahab and she brought to her marriage many wicked beliefs. Ahab did not have the courage to stop her and Jezebel basically reeked havoc on the people. Jezebel basically brought the act of prostitution into worship. 2 King 9:9-10 predicts Jezebel's demise, "So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. 10 The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.’” 2 Kings 9:30-37 describes Jezebel's demise. The original Jezebel had been dead for 1000 years but somehow her teachings and her practices had been revived in the Church in Thyatira.

Or ElseJezebel was given a time to repent and she refused. Sin was more important to her than serving Jesus. Sins was more attractive. Jesus then says, He will throw her into sickbed and all that follow her. Have you ever considered that Jesus has done this same thing with you and I regarding a time to repent? What will you do if He turns you over to your sin? Why would we be treated different? He says He gave her a time to repent but she refused. Have you refused? He will give you and I a time to repent. That time is now! Don't wait because you are not in control. Take the time now to repent. Take the road of repentance today because you don't know when He will turn you over.

Jesus says He searches the hearts and minds of the people and He says He will give to each one according to their works. Jesus just said works matter. I will give to each according to their works, that is pretty clear. What are your works? Are you practicing known sin? When you hear teachers, pastors, brothers and sisters in Christ talk about sin, do you fight it? Do you say things under your breath? Do you in the confines of your car and home seek to tear down that which is taught? Do you lead others down a path of sin? Be careful! God's discipline is serious and real and it will come. Under your breath and in the confines of your home with the closest and dearest people to you, the vapors of satan flow from your lips, if you attempt to justify and proclaim right that which the Word of God says is wrong. It is your mind and the minds of those seeking Jesus you infect. Woe is it to those who fight the Word and teachings of Jesus Christ. Woe is it to those who seek to lead the children of God astray. God repeatedly in the Bible will not stand for such actions.

But look what He says to those who do not fall prey to the false teachings. Jesus says He will not put any other burden on you. You will not have to carry or endure any more, just hold fast until Jesus comes. So as people, whisper distractions and things not of God to you, as they justify at every turn that sin is ok, remember to pray for them with all your heart, but you hold fast to the Word of God and you stay grounded in righteousness. It is unfortunate that many times it is those who claim to love us the most that are attempting to lead us down the slippery slope of destruction. Stand Firm. Hold on until the end and experience the Glory and power of Jesus Christ. True love will lead you in a path of righteousness not destruction.

I thought I would share with you the thoughts of our very own Jonathan Burditt. As you can see he has decided to study the Word of God and to dive deep into the scriptures. May we all catch this fire.Brother Big DaddyProverbs 27:17 New International Version (NIV)17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. In order to fully explain this verse one must have an understanding of the history of metal. While The Book of Proverbs does not have an established date of when it was written, some say as long as 900 B.C. others around 300 B.C., we can safely assume that it was around the Iron Age. To fully understand this verse we must understand the use of the word iron. Iron would have been most likely used to describe any metal tougher than bronze, as the words: steel, pig steel, Damascus steel, Wootz steel and any other such words would not have been coined yet. Now you might be thinking well what about 2 Samuel 22:35, Job 20:24, Psalm 18:34, and Jeremiah 15:12 which all contain the word steel. Well the word used in those verses is “Necuwshah” Strong’s number 5154 which doesn’t refer to steel as in a metal as we know it, it just so happens that steel is an English word that fits the definition well. During the time Proverbs was written the process of making steel or better yet iron containing carbon was just being discovered by man. So now we can understand that each ‘iron’ tool could be much different than another ‘iron’ tool in terms of carbon content. (If I’m losing anyone here just do a quick search on ancient steel). Because in the beginning ‘steel’ making was really a guessing game as it was in its beginning stages. Now that I have established that it is very logical that the word ‘iron’ could very well be describing “pig steel” that would allow tools to have varying degrees of hardness I believe it is time to address the act of sharpening metal. For my explanation I will describe how to sharpen a sword. (My source… http://www.ehow.com/how_2108055_sharpensword.html#ixzz2SdWhwAth). Step one lay your sword on a table with one side propped up on the block of wood. Be sure there is enough lighting to see the sword edge clearly. Step two place the (metal) file at a 30 degree angle. Carefully use measured downward strokes on the sword blade to roughly sharpen it. Third apply oil to the whetstone. Place the sword blade across the stone at a 30-degree angle in a slow and measured stroke. You are polishing the blade here so this is a back and forth motion, not a circular one. Step four; dampen a small piece of 400-grit sandpaper with water. Glide the paper down the blade at a 30-degree angle. This must be done very gently because your fingers can easily slip and you can cut yourself. Now that I have explained the physicals facts I would like to expand on how this can be applied to the spiritual side. However, before I begin I would like to make a few comments that are fundamental. First I would like to say that this only works for two individuals involved in a relationship with Jesus Christ, not just one. Now I would like to go over the steps of metal sharpening again. Step one involves metal on metal contact which can be regarded as our fellowship with other Christians. The “strength” of each “tool” will dictate how much filing is done. Now step one says that you should put the sword on a wooden block, that wooden block would be the Holy Bible. Step two says to hold the sword at a certain angle that can be thought of as being totally surrendered to God. Step three involves the oil and whetstone, in this step we are removing the metal shavings and giving the blade a polish. This part can be thought of as the blood of Christ which removes our sins and gives us a clean new edge. Finally, we come to the sandpaper; this step is to blend the new edge with the entire blade. This can be related to our daily actions, keeping Gods commandments. This process will decide if the new edge is fully blended into the sword. We must be very careful with this step. However, if done correctly the blade will become much sharper. Now I would like to make a few comments on the Hebrew words of Proverbs 27:17. (I will be using the Transliteration as well as the Strong’s number). First, I would like to make a note on the word Chadad (Strong’s #H2300), which is translated into sharpen, however another word “quibble” which means to make trivial objections: to argue over unimportant things and make petty objections. Next the word paniym (#H6440) which in the KJV is translated into countersense is defined as characteristics, sight, or edge among many other possible meanings. Finally the word rea (#H7453) which in the KJV is translated into of his friend, which is defined as a brother, companion, fellow, friend, husband, lover, neighbor. Before I close I would like to make this point very clear without a relationship with the savior Jesus Christ, the interactions with Christians will not give you a new sharpened edge it will most likely only, create a lot of friction. Check out what the rest of proverbs has to say about rebuke. However, in closing I would like to encourage everyone to earnestly pray about what this scripture means. Pray that the Holy Spirit would reveal it’s true meaning to each of us. Jonathan Burditt

Revelation 2:12-1712 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

I want to focus on the last part of verse 14 today. It says Jesus holds the fact that the church has a group of people there that are stumbling blocks to His children against the church. I think it is important to point out that His attention here was not on the ones who were stumbling blocks, but on the church for allowing those to lead the children away. This is pretty tough information here. It requires the church to deal with stumbling blocks. God deals with those individuals that lead people astray; however, here He says that what He has against the church of Pergamos is that they have those individuals present in their assembly with no correction. They are allowing them to lead the others astray. It is one thing for sin to be in your church. Obviously, if we are going to be a spiritual hospital to a hurting world, we will have individuals in our midst that will have sin in their life and may be struggling with every ounce in their being. The question the church has to ask is in what direction are they headed and what direction are they leading the children of God. What direction are you leading those who God has just begun to draw? We cannot, absolutely cannot allow these baby christians or any child of God to be lead astray. So what has to happen, church discipline 101!

Matthew 18:15-2015 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

Titus 3:10-1110 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

You see we have a responsibility to address individuals in such a way as to restore them and show the love of God; however, there is a time when you have to do more, if the individual will not respond.

Romans 1:28-3228 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving,unmerciful;32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.We don't like to think of God or God's people as being this harsh, but when you think about it, it is not harsh. We are not talking about doing this from jump street. We are not talking about doing this right off the bat. You give a person a chance to turn from their wicked ways; however, when their unwillingness to adhere to what God is teaching begins to infect and cause those children of God around them to stumble they cannot be allowed to continue to influence. The church at Pergamos had compromised in so many ways Jesus said He had enough. You know if come here and proclaim the name of Jesus and you claim to love Jesus, then do right. If you can't do right then when your sin causes others to fall you have to do what you do somewhere else. The best for everyone is to adhere to the "or else." mentioned throughout Revelation 2. That is right, repent and live for Jesus Christ, surrender to Him and love Him.

Revelation 2:12-1712 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Hopefully you have learned a great deal about the positives and negatives ofthe church at Pergamon. Today we examine the or else component of this church. Jesus says to repent or else He will come quickly and will fight against them with the sword of His mouth. First let us understand that the first order of business is to change direction, to repent. We just as the church at Pergamos must be willing to turn from whatever God says is not good. Sin, life plans, career goals, friends, relationships, whatever God says is not good, we must be willing to repent and head towards God. Secondly, we must repent quickly. When God reveals something to us we must not repent when we get ready, we must be ready when He is ready. So the time to repent is right now. The time to change is right now, not next week, not next year. Right now. So we are to repent and do it quickly. If we will not then we are simply reaching out our hand much like Apollo Creed did in Rocky III as he was ringing the bell to fight Rocky after his bought with Clubber Lane and saying Ding Ding. We are challenging Jesus to a fight, we are inviting Him to oppose us. Please look at what He says He will fight with, the sword of His mouth. This is the same weapon He used to defeat satan as satan tempted Him. Jesus was victorious. You and I are no match for Jesus. We are by no means ready for this, we will utterly fail and it will be painful and destructive. On the other hand, we could just repent and surrender to what He is saying. We will be an overcomer. Verse 17 says,"...To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’ If we repent we will be fed. We will be provided for and we will be able to walk powerfully. We will be given a white stone with an new name. We will be secure in the hands of Jesus Christ. We will be His child walking according to His plan.

Revelation 2:12-1712 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.

17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’

Yesterday we discussed the doctrine of Balaam and the destruction that holding to a doctrine contrary to the doctrine of God will bring. Today, we will discuss the Nicolaitans. Who were they? What did they teach? What was their malfunction?

First let us breakdown the name Nicolaitans, it is composed of two parts, Nico-, which means "victory" or "to conquer" in Greek, and laos which means people, or more specifically, the laity; hence, the word may be taken to mean "lay conquerors" or "conquerors of the lay people." You see the Nicolaitans very aggressively taught that there were two distinct divisions in the church. The clergy and the lay people. They divided the church and thus were not of God. They were also very corrupt in their behavior. Early church writings have descriptions of them that range from unrestrained indulgence, to idol worshipers, to those who indulge in selfish desires like goats. The bottom line is they lived unrestrained lives. Please note that in verse 15 this is the second time Jesus uses the term "hate" when describing the practices and sin of the Nicolaitans.

In 2013 how would you describe an unrestrained life. We discussed yesterday the doctrine of Balaam, who basically couldn't curse God's people so he corrupted them. He corrupted them with the following, The Marriage of The Church and The World. Basically, the church and the world mend into one. The old testament result in this was 24,000 dead. Go back and read what happened in Numbers 21-31, yes it is ten chapters but you can do this.

I ask two basic questions: 1) what does an unrestrained life in 2013 look like? What does it look like when the church and the world are married? 2) What does a doctrine of division as the Niclaitans taught look like in 2013? How does division exist in the church? How does it get started? How does it end? Yes, I know that was more than two questions? I will expect the people of The Way to be able to discuss this on Wednesday night so do your homework. You have time, the bottom line, it is either important to you or not? I choose the first. It is important, so do it. Be prepared. Be happy. in fact be Happy happy Happy. Tomorrow we discuss what happens if we do not take corrective action.

Revelation 2:12-1712 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write,‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receivesit.”’As we continue through the churches we see here that Jesus is described to the Church at Pergamos as He who has the two edged sword. The Words of God are very sharp here. And He tells them to repent or else He will come and fight against them. I wonder if we hear Jesus when He tells us repent or I will come and fight against you. Think about this, if you are actively engaged in sin, you are inviting Jesus to fight against you. You cannot, you absolutely cannot, expect to sin free of charge. We all to often want to think of Jesus as fighting against the world. However, He will protect His house. Yes even if He has to do it from inside out. You and I need to be very careful when we thumb our noses at Jesus and pretty much say to Him, this is my sin and I am not going to stop. He will deal with this issue, verse 16 is very very clear in this matter. Repent or experience the fight you cannot win.

First of all Jesus commends the church for maintaining their faith even though they live in the presence of Satan.As children of God our environment should not overtake us. We should be stronger than the influence around us. We should be the influence, we should not be under the influence. Although this church maintained the faith under very difficult circumstances, they were a church that compromised. They allowed the doctrine of Balaam, which is a stumbling block. Additionally they allowed the doctrine of the Nicolaitans.

The doctrine of Balaam takes a good bit of study but I will give you scripture references and basically sum it up as idol worship and fornication. Just before the Jews entered the land of Canaan, they defeated the kingdoms of Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites. Consequently, Balak, the king of Moab, feared an attack from the Jews against his people. Balak hired the prophet, Balaam to curse the Jews, hoping to give his people an advantage if they were to war against God's people. Instead Balaam blessed the Jews and did not curse them (Num 23-24). Balak was furious, he fired Balaam. However, before Balaam returned to his place (Num 24:25), he gave Balak counsel (Num 31:16) that caused the wrath of God to come against Israel. He counseled Balak to let the daughters of Moab prostitute themselves with the Jews and to get them to eat the things sacrificed to idols (Num 25:1-3). The result of this doctrine was discipline at the Hand of God. Twenty four thousand Jews died in a plague that was a result of their sin (Num 25:4-9). First of all the Jews were forbidden to intermingle with the Moabites (Deut 23:3) and they certainly were not allowed to worship idols. Obviously Balaam’s counsel ran contrary to the command of God. The acceptance and/or compromise to allow this doctrine resulted in God dealing with His people. We have somehow developed this idea that we can sin and Jesus will not do anything about it. this is simply arrogance and evil deception, Jesus will deal with sin. We cannot allow doctrine in the church that runs contrary to the Word of God. We cannot compromise as the Church at Pergamos did, not just with the doctrine of Balaam but also the Nicolaitans. We will discuss them tomorrow. RAK CHAZAK,

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write,‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’In verse 10 Jesus commands the church in Smyrna not to fear the things they are about to suffer. Understand that in this life there will be persecution. We will have struggles, and hardship. We will have our faith tested and we will be attack by evil. There is a significance to the statement you will have tribulation ten days. You see there is a time limit on our sufferings. Jesus knows what we can handle and He strengthens us for the fight. He empowers our steps and He provides strength. We are His and He holds us and takes care of us. He is our protector. He carries us through the storm. However, He tells us to have the mindset that we will be faithful unto the death. For some of us that is exactly what will happen, we will be faithful unto the death and it is death that will reveal the greatest blessing ever imagined, being in the presence of Jesus. It will happen to all of us one day. Yes every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is Lord. Jesus then says that if we are faithful unto death He will give us the crown of life.

Let us take a closer look at this crown. There are five crowns mentioned in the Bible given to followers of Christ regarding different aspects of our walk. Here Jesus says that those who keep the faith until death will receive the crown of life. He also mentions this same crown of life in

James 1:12, Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.We will receive this crown when we proceed in God’s plan by enduring under trials and temptation. The believer who moves forward in God’s call and assignment in the face of difficulty, even martyrdom, will receive this crown.

Let us understand:a) Testing and trials are part of the Christian life. It should be understood that when faced with test and trials many Christians turn back and do not continue on the path God has called them to run on.

b) Jesus said we would have trouble: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

c) “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15:18)

d) Paul writes to Timothy, “You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith , patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:10,11,12)

e) The doorway to the next level towards fulfilling God’s plan is to endure hardships and persecution.

f) The reward is for “persevering” and remaining “faithful”. The reward is not given for having great faith and getting delivered from the trial or test.

g) We are faithful to the Lord in the trial. The Lord is faithful to reward us for enduring the trial.

As the church in Smyrna were instructed to endure so are we. We must remain faithful and know that our Lord and Savior has for us the crown of life.